Body weight distributing shoe pad construction



W. C. BURNS Jan. 13, 1948.

BODY WEIGHT DISTRIBUTING S'HOE PAD CONSTRUCTION Filed April 1e, 194eWILL/AM C .Que/v6, n I VENTOR @www ATTORNEY Patented Jan 13, 1948 BODYWEIGHT DISTRIBUTING SHOE PAD CONSTRUCTION William C.l Burns, Santa Anna,Calif;

Application-April 16, 1946, Serial N0. 662,550A

This inventionfrelates' t'o `a` pad constructionl adapted for use inshoes to provide a weight'- distributing element adapted t'o cause adesired distribution of the body' Weight to the' portions of the footstructure which are best adapted to carry such weight without inducing aweakening of the muscular structure of the foot, and it is a particularobject of this invention to provide a pad construction which vis adaptedto retain its position within the' shoeV and with respect to the foot ofthe wearer', and therebyprovide a maximum utility and. comfortv over' along useful' life period.

To the best of my knowledge, hitherto proposed forms of removable padsand soca1led arch supports have for the most part a marked tendency toshift their position within'th'e shoe as a result'.` of the loads `andfootl movements imposed thereupon in use, rendering them unfit for thepurpose for which they originally were intended, or' at least resultingin a; decrease in the comfort to the user: This undesirable shifting isfound to take place at 'dii'erent' rates with different structures',being usually more rapid or more marked when the structure is providedwith raises or elevated pad' sections adapted to underlie specic zonesofthe foot.

The human foot is so constructed' thatV any Weight imposed upon the archportion of the foot, that is, the portion from immediatelyv be'- hindthe articulatedjoi'nts of the metatarsals and the phlanges (often termedtheV ball of the foot) rearwardly to just infront of the'heel, willcause a shifting tendency between the foot and the supporting'surface onwhich such` weight is carried. If the surface isv fixed, the foot tendsto slip to the' outside. If the surface is movable, the surface itself'tends to shift to the in'- sideof the foot. In a conventional" shoe,with no weight-distributing" pad structure; the result of this shiftingtendency is 'to causeA the foot to crowd to the-'outside of the shoe,placing lateral pressure upon the toes by engagement'with the shoeupper. Where a removable weight-distributing pad or "'arch'supportstructure is employed', the result of" this' shifting tendency is acrowding of thestructure toward the inside of the foot, as wel-1l as acrowding of the foot toward the outside of the shoe, and the' resultingpressure against the lateral sides -of the toes stretches the shoe' outof shape, hampers' Vthe use of the toes' in the normal walking function,and causes misalinement to the; toes with resulting pain andLdiscomfort.

According` to my invention, I'pr'ovide a weightdistributing means, as 'apad for a shoe construction, adapted to be worn subiacent theweightbearing portions of the foot, wherein cooperating anchor elementsare provided to substantially prevent dislocation or shifting of theweight-distributing means relative to the foot in use. This feature isattainedV through the agency of cooperating weight-bearing andposition-locating portions. This invention may be considered as animprovement on the structures described and claimed in my earlierissuedr Patents Nos. 1,728,780, dated September 1.7, 1929': No.2,081,474, dated May 25, 1937; and; No. 2,287,341, dated. June 23, 1942.

The Weight-distributing'structure of this invention may comprise,essentially, a pad member adapted to underlie the sole of the foot,provided with one or more weight-distributing raises or elevationsadapted to be located subjacent specific zones of the foot, togetherwith a, weight-bearing section substantially free of raises orelevations andlocated vimmediately subjacent the metatarsal-phalangeal'articulations, and a lateral anchor pad so spaced with respect to suchweight-bearing section as to eX- tend' upwardly from the pad member inposition to bear laterally against. the fifth metatarsal immediatelyrearwardly of the fth metatarsalphalangeal articulation, said lateralpad portion being of appreciable thickness in a lateralv direction,whereby to absorb the normal lateral thrust of the foot by transmissionof such thrust to the adjacent' portion of the shoe upper, and maintainthe users toes substantially out of engagement with the shoe upper;

The above and other features of this invention will be brought out inthe ensuing description of a preferred embodiment, or will be Vapparentfrom such description. The accompany-,- ing drawings illustrate suchembodiment, and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of afpadmember accordingto the presentinvention, adapted for use under the left foot;

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail thereof: as taken on -line 2-2 in Fig., 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail. thereof as-taken. on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 i's a sectional detail thereof'as takenon line 4-4 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary' plan view of the lateral edge of a left footadjacent the fifth metatarsalphalangeal zone, with the shoe-upper brokenaway, showingl how" a portionv of the structure of this inventioncooperates with the foot and the adjacent portion of the show upper, inuse.

Referring to the drawings, the pad structure is indicate-d generally atI, comprising a posterior or heel portion 2 and an anterior portion 3.The length of the pad member will be so established with reference tothe length of foot of the user that the anterior portion 3 liessubjacent the socalled ball of the foot, i. e., the muscular pad lyingbelow the metatarsal-phalangeal articulations. The width of the padmember I is preferably made substantially that of the width of the foot.e

In accordance with the teachings of my earlier issued Patent No.2,287,341, above mentioned, I

have shown the pad member I as provided with Y a plurality ofprotuberances or elevations formed by thickened portions of the padstructure, whichY are adapted to underlie certain designated zones ofthe foot and cooperate to secure a desired weight-distribution. Thenumeral 4 indicates an elevated member upon which the principalproportion of the body weight is intended to be concentrated, and thismember is located along the lateral side of the foot at a positionsubstantially below the cuboid and the forward portion of the os calcis,as taught in the above issued patent. Opposite the member 4 on themedial side of the foot, I may provide a. complementary elevated member5 which is of materially greater` height than the member 4 and adaptedto underlie the cuboid region. Similarly, at the forward or anteriorportion of the pad I may provide additional elevated shoulder members 8and!! adapted to underlie selected areas of the metatarsals posteriorlyof the metatarsal-phalangeal articulations.

The above-described elevated members, it will be comprehended, are givenby way of illustrattion of a weight-distributing pad construction towhich the instant invention has been applied, and other locations of oneor more elevated shoulder members adapted for specific attainment ofcertain weight-distributing effects may be substituted therefor withinthe contemplation of this invention.

At the lateral edge of the pad structure, immediately posteriorly of thefth metatarsalphalangeal articulation, I provide an upwardly extendingcushion member I0 adapted to bear laterally against the muscle structurewhich covers the forward end of the fifth metatarsal. The cushion memberI D is preferably skived off at its edges so that no abrupt shoulderswill be present to cause discomfort to the user, and the attachment ofthe cushion I0 to the main structure of the pad I is preferably of aflexible nature so that the cushion I0 may readily adopt a positionconsonant with the foot structure, and thereby reduce possiblediscomfort to the wearer, as indicated by way of example of the dot-dashlines in Fig. 2. The anterior portion 3 of the pad member is made ofrather extended area so as to provide a relatively large surface I Iupon which the ball of the foot may bear, the curved dotdash line I2 inFig. 1 indicating a preferred ap proximate line of pressure applicationresulting from the ball of the foot upon the surface II.

The pad structure as a whole may be provided by upper and lower fabricsor leather sheet members I4 and I5, between which rubber or other padmembers IB may be inserted to establish the desired raises orelevations, and while 'I.' have shown both of the sheets I4 and I5 asextending forwardly a short distance, and only the sheet I4 extendingthe full distance, to form the surface II, it will be appreciated thatone or the other of these sheets may be omitted at this location, orboth extended forwardly the full length, if desired, without detrimentto the utility of the structure.

In Figs. 1 and 4 the pad structure is shown as provided with a raisedportion I'I connecting the raises or shoulders 5 and 8, forming, ineiect, a single shoulder member extending along the medial side of thefoot. This raised portion I'I,

serves to equalize the weight on the great toe joint and eliminates thetendency for a weak foot to pronate. I have found that this con nectingraise, which comes up high enough on thermedialside of the arch of thefoot to induce a leverage which will brace a weak arch and adjust theweight on the cuboid region and the portion of the shoulder or raise 9Just back of the fth metatarsal articulation, actually makes the raises5 and 8 more effective. The raise or shoulder portion I1 is caused tocome up high on the medial side of the arch where there are no cords,arteries or nerves to be interfered with, and where there is a stablepad of muscles upon which pressure may be applied. The added tendencyfor the pad to shift beneath the foot, induced by the sloping raise IIat the medial edge of the arch, is overcome by the cooperating membersIU and II, as hereinafter described.

As brought out above, the application of pressure by the foot upon asupporting surface tends either to cause the foot to be moved laterallyor the supporting surface to be crowded medially, and according to thisinvention, I provide the surface II against which the ball of the footmay bear in use, and also provide the cushion member I0 to bear againstthe lateral side of the foot at the fth metatarsal. The provision ofthese two cooperating elements appears to be necessary to the propermaintenance of the pad structure within the shoe under the footmovements which take place in use, and I believe the function of thesetwo members I0 and II to be as follows: as the weight of the foot isimposed upon the pad member, the foot will tend to roll upon the musclestructure at the bottom of the foot in a direction toward the lateraledge, even though the foot does not slide laterally on the surface ofthe pad, such as upon the sur.. face II. When the weight is taken offthe foot, as in walking, the foot will tend to pull vertically away fromthe pad surface in the normal case, allowing a, slight sliding movementof the muscle tissues toward the lateral side of the foot as thepressure is released, so that upon the next succeeding step the muscleportion of the foot will be brought down upon the pad structure at aposition slightly removed laterally from the position experienced whenthe pressure was first applied in the preceding step. The cushion I0,bearing as it does upon the lateral margin of the foot, as a result ofmedially directed pressure imposed by the adjacent portion of the shoeupper, will counteract this tendency for the foot to roll laterally aspressure is released, and. in effect, causes the foot to be placed downupon the pad structure in the same position as each succeeding step.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated, fragmentarily, a lateral edge of a foot,with the little or fifth toe curved medially as is normally encounteredwhen the foot is located within a shoe, the fragmentary illustration ofthe foot itself being indicated at I8. I have represented theapproximate location oi the fth metatarsal-phalangeal articulation bythe dot-dash circle I9, and have represented the adjacent portion of theshoe upper at 20. From this iigure it would be seen that the cushionmember l bears against the shoe upper, maintaining the forwardlyadjacent portion of the foot out of substantial contact with the shoeupper. The cushion I0, being attached to the pad structure l, isrelatively fixed Within the shoe, but by virtue of its flexibleattachment to the pad, does not act as a rigid horn or protuberancewhich of itself prevents lateral dislocation of the foot with respect tothe pad I. In fact, if the shoe is not present, medial pressure on thepad structure with respect to the foot will allow the pad to some extentto slide under the foot', curving the cushion I0 outwardly as throughthe dot-dash position of Fig. 2. When the construction is in the shoeand in use, this outward movement is opposed only by the adjacent shoeupper portion, yet there is no tendency for the pad structure to movemedially under the foot.

The above description of a preferred form of my invention is consideredto be illustrative, and I do not choose to be limited to the precisedetails of shape and construction herein described, but rather to thescope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In a removable pad structure provided with elevated portions adaptedto underlie specic zones of a wearers foot when used in a shoe, toestablish a desired body-weight distribution, such elevated portionsincluding portions adapted to lie subjacent the metatarsals posteriorlyof the metatarsabphalangeal articulations, the construction whichcomprises: means dening a thin weight-bearing portion of substantiallyuniform thickness extending transversely of said structure anteriorly ofsaid elevated portions which are adapted to lie subjacent themetatarsals and thereby adapted to underlie the metatarsal-phalangealarticulations of the foot, and means defining an upwardly extendingcushion member at the lateral margin of such a pad structure adapted tobear against the lateral margin of the foot posteriorly of the fifthmetatarsal-phalangeal articulation, said cushion member being flexiblyattached to said removable pad structure.

2. In a removable pad structure provided with elevated portions adaptedto underlie specific Zones of a wearers foot when used in a shoe, toestablish a desired body-weight distribution, such elevated portionsincluding one portion adapted to underlie the cuboid region of the footand another portion adapted to underlie the rst metatarsal posteriorlyof the rst metatarsalphalangeal articulation, the construction whichcomprises: means defining an elevated portion to underlie the medialedge of the arch of the wearers foot; means defining a thinweightbearing portion of substantially uniform thickness establishing ananterior weight-bearing portion and adapted to underlie themetatarsalphalangeal articulations of the foot, and means defining anupwardly extending cushion member at the lateral margin of such a padstructure adapted to bear against the lateral margin of the footposteriorly of the fth metatarsalphalangeal articulation, said cushionmember being ilexibly attached to said removable pad structure.

3. In a removable pad structure provided with elevated portions adaptedto underlie specic zones of a wearers foot when used in a shoe, toestablish a desired body-weight distribution, such elevated portionsincluding portions adapted to lie subjacent the metatarsals posteriorlyof the metatarsallphalangeal articulations, the construction whichcomprises: means dening a thin weight-bearing portion of substantiallyuniform thickness extending transversely of said structure anteriorly ofsaid elevated portions which are adapted to lie subjacent themetatarsals and thereby adapted to underlie the metatarsal-phlangealarticulations of the foot, and means defining an upwardly and forwardlyextending cushion member at the lateral margin of such a pad structureadapted to bear against the lateral margin of the foot posteriorly ofthe fifth metatarsal-phalangeal articulation, said cushion member beingiiexibly attached to said removable pad structure.

WILLIAM C. BURNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 545,006 Baird Aug. 20, 18951,284,191 Hamilton Nov. 5, 1918 1,402,557 Wilms Jan. 3, 1922 1,700,569I-Iillery Jan. 29, 1929 2,027,055 Mirenta Jan. 7,1936 2,163,906 CoteJune 27, 1939 2,287,341 Burns June 23, 1942

